Ravi Shastri remains India’s head coach until T20 WC in 2021

While Shastri has the statistics to support his candidature, there is more to him than simple statistics.

Does Dhoni still figure in the Indian teams’ scheme of things for the T20 World Cup in Australia?

It was very much expected and now it has been formalised. Ravi Shastri will steer the Indian cricket team as head coach for the next two years, which will include 14 Test matches culminating in the finals of the World Test championships at Lord’s in 2021 and two World T20s —Australia in 2020 and India in 2021.

Shastri, it may be said, was not the choice of the fans. In an age where perceptions more than the ground reality influence opinion, Shastri was not the favoured one. But perceptions are not the reality. Shastri may not be much loved outside, but within the team he commands respect. He has the performance to show for in his stint as head coach and has a special camaraderie with the captain.

Did he deserve the job? And did he give a good presentation to the CAC comprising of Kapil Dev, Anshuman Gaekwad and Shanta Rangaswamy? The answer is an overwhelming yes. To say the process was rigged is to also cast aspersions on the credibility of each of these three people who are all accomplished members of the Indian cricket fraternity. While Kapil is one of the greatest to have played the game, Gaekwad, a former coach and opener, has always been known for his grit and commitment.

Shanta, on the other hand, is perhaps the first real stalwart of the women’s game and played in an age when the support systems for women’s cricket was non-existent. To doubt their integrity is a rather harsh act.

While Shastri has the statistics to support his candidature, there is more to him than simple statistics. That India is the world’s No. 1 Test side is certainly a legacy Kohli and Shastri can lay a claim to. To think that the duo played Jasprit Bumrah in South Africa when he had been labelled a white-ball player speaks of a certain vision. To play Mayank Agarwal and Hanuma Vihari ahead of Murali Vijay and KL Rahul in Australia in the all-important third Test in Melbourne shows character. To try out Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal in South Africa in the white-ball format is yet another stand out decision. His performance as head coach should be scrutinised, his personal and private time is beyond scrutiny.

Could he have done better as India coach between 2017 and 2019? Certainly yes. He knows best that a stable middle-order could have given India a much better chance against New Zealand in the World Cup once the top three had been dismissed cheaply. Had there been a stable No. 4, things could well have turned out different. Shastri, for the record, did acknowledge this in one of his post World Cup interviews.

Going forward, what is expected of India’s head coach? First and foremost there needs to be clarity. He needs to chart out a plan for the middle-order and to be fair he is already on course to doing that with Shreyas Iyer stepping up in the Caribbean. He also needs to give some concrete answers on MS Dhoni so that the roadmap going forward is clear.

Does Dhoni still figure in the Indian teams’ scheme of things for the T20 World Cup in Australia? If he does, it is imperative he plays domestic cricket once his stint with the Indian army is over. He needs to be an active cricketer and not a hobby cricketer who plays the game as and when he likes.

Finally, he needs to help Kohli the captain and keep him cocooned from the stories that keep floating around in Indian cricket. Virat the batsman is brilliant. But he was hurting in the aftermath of the World Cup loss and would want to win a World Cup for India. It is important that Shastri helps Kohli the leader more than Kohli the batsman. That’s where there is scope for improvement and that’s where the head coach can make a difference. This Indian team is still work in progress and the Kohli-Shastri combination deserves credit for having brought it here. It is only fair that they be given two more years to carve out their legacy.